Brooding ducklings for first time…in living room

[Miss Lydia]

It would be awesome if we all could brood out of the house but it isn't always feasible.
If I hatched every season this would have to be the norm. Minus the mama cat and kittens. lol that is so sweet you are letting her have the brooder room for her nursery.

 

[HennyPenny44]

I start mine in a plastic bin, then move to a small wading pool, then a big wading pool. I wouldn't keep more than 6 though in a big wading pool, and that's with them spending a few hours outside during the day in a predator proof house. They also get frequent swims in the bathtub for exercise. Your two groups will likely not even be able to be combined for some time since the larger ones can trample the little ones and also they will likely be afraid of each other. I'm dealing with that right now with two sets two weeks apart. As for cleaning, I do it several times a day since my girls are in my kitchen and also I hate for them to walk and sit in their own poop and want to keep things dry as possible. It's just part of the messy job of ducklings. Things get harder the bigger they get due to more poop and also feathers and down will get everywhere. Do you have a plan for predator proof housing once they're old enough?

Hmm, I heard that you can combine different ages after partitioning them off so they can see each other and then combining them once they acclimate to each other. I was planning to use chicken wire in the box or pool and then removing it once the little ones are more active. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get the breed I wanted right away or I would have had a smaller age gap. How old are your two groups currently? Mine have been taking swims too in a bin and now the tub but I’m not sure when they can go for little trips outside as our weather fluctuates a lot.

I do have a predator proof duck house and run I built waiting for them that is currently occupied by my 8 week old chicks who will move out and join the older hens in a few weeks. Yes, I’ve resolved that I have to clean their box every 2 days minimum as they like to sit in one spot and poop in that area. Currently, that spot is the mirror I gave them. They love it!

 

[HennyPenny44]

I put all my ducklings or chicks that I brood outside from day 1, with a heat source. They have all done fantastic, and been so much happier and more active then when I keep them indoors for the first eight weeks! Here are a few pictures of my set up. At night I lock them in that indoor area and close the lid, and then during the day they get to roam around and explore the 120 square foot run.

View attachment 3472088

That’s a great set up! Maybe I can have something like that one day. We just moved to our new property in November of last year so I had little time to build their house and run.

 

[HennyPenny44]

I agree with this. Brooding outdoors for both ducklings and chicks I have seen improvement in activity, acclimation and overall hardiness compared to indoor brooded ones. I love my brooder room out in the barn and it makes my life easier…well usually easier… this year I have been brooding indoors for over a week because the feral kitty that showed up a couple months ago decided to have her kittens in my brooder room. I left them in there because it is probably the safest place from my chickens Thankfully my husband should be finishing up my converted lean-to on the other side so I can finish brooding in there next week.

I might do that in the future as we have a huge shed/barn but I would need to predator proof the brooder since critters can and have dug underneath the shed. The only downside is I would probably get lazy spending time with them and they might not be as friendly with me. The ducklings and I have started snuggle sessions where they just lie on me and my son for warmth and it’s endlessly fun.

 

[CoriM]

Hmm, I heard that you can combine different ages after partitioning them off so they can see each other and then combining them once they acclimate to each other. I was planning to use chicken wire in the box or pool and then removing it once the little ones are more active. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get the breed I wanted right away or I would have had a smaller age gap. How old are your two groups currently? Mine have been taking swims too in a bin and now the tub but I’m not sure when they can go for little trips outside as our weather fluctuates a lot.

I do have a predator proof duck house and run I built waiting for them that is currently occupied by my 8 week old chicks who will move out and join the older hens in a few weeks. Yes, I’ve resolved that I have to clean their box every 2 days minimum as they like to sit in one spot and poop in that area. Currently, that spot is the mirror I gave them. They love it!

My older ones are not quite 3 weeks and the little ones not quite a week. The little ones seem like they're about a tenth of the size of the big ones though. I will try to combine them once they're larger and I know they won't get trampled. I have their brooders next to each other and I let them see each other every day, so it's not such a shock.

 

[CoriM]

@CoriM when you put the ducklings into the pool brooder do you put anything around it to keep the ducklings from jumping out?

I have used 2 foot hardware cloth but usually my ducks just get used to being in there and don't jump out unless something startles them. I have puppy fence that I use to fence off their pool area to keep my dog out of their food if I'm not around, but otherwise she is great with them.

 

[CoriM]

Here is my current set-up. I'm going to switch the older ones to the bigger wading pool this week. I put my tiny ones in this pool today for a little run around and one of them popped out. So it kind of just depends on if you have jumpers and how quickly they get used to this being the place they belong and stop trying to get out. Haha - just as I am typing this my Buff jumped out onto a pile of towels I had next to the pool. Definitely time to move them!

 

[Miss Lydia]

They are kind of like pop corn lol

 

[HennyPenny44]

My older ones are not quite 3 weeks and the little ones not quite a week. The little ones seem like they're about a tenth of the size of the big ones though. I will try to combine them once they're larger and I know they won't get trampled. I have their brooders next to each other and I let them see each other every day, so it's not such a shock.

I have the same pool and might use that soon with some chicken wire around it. The box I have has a shower curtain liner taped to it but that keeps falling and the ducks keep nibbling on the tape.

I just got my 2 day olds this morning and I can’t believe how much tinier they are! My older ducklings heard them and perked up their heads when they heard the cheeping. It may just take a couple more weeks for you to combine yours but I don’t see why they should be raised completely separately if the ultimate goal is to integrate them as ducklings.